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Fallen Heroes

This section is dedicated to the fallen members of the Jersey City Police Department. These officers gave the ultimate sacrifice while protecting and serving the citizens of Jersey City. They were our friends and heroes who were too soon taken away.

EDWARD O’BRIEN: died in May 1880 after his revolver exploded while he was capturing a burglary suspect. He ignored his wounds as he walked the suspect back to the precinct to be arrested.

JAMES MOULDS: died on April 21, 1882. He had participated in the capture of the First National Bank burglars in 1872.

CHARLES REYNOLDS: died on July 9, 1883, after being fired upon by a burglar who was struggling with another officer. Reynolds was responding to the officer’s shouts for assistance.

SGT.MICHAEL CONLON: died on July 8, 1896 at age 28, of pleurisy, after chasing two robbers into the Meadows and wading into the Hackensack River up to his neck to capture one of them.

NICHOLAS F. NESTOR: died on October 7, 1908, attempting to rescue fire victims.

DENNIS J. SULLIVAN: died on June 12, 1910, electrocuted while putting his key in a call box to report a fire.

TH0MAS MAYPOWER: died of injuries to his head and spine on September 28, 1910, after slipping on the ice while on patrol.

HUGH J. CLARKE: died on October 1, 1913, he was electrocuted as he was reporting a fire at a call box during a storm.

JOHN J. SMITH: died of injuries on May 22, 1913, as the result of a fall suffered while chasing burglars looting the flats of people made homeless by a fire.

CHARLES GRAHAM: died on June 11, 1914, after he was shot by a thief, but continued to pursue him in spite of his wounds.

JAMES F. DOHERTY: died on August 1, 1916, in an explosion at a munitions station at the Black Tom Rail Yards.

JOHN J. MURPHY: died of a fractured skull on November 29, 1916, after striking his head on an iron trolley pole in the performance of his duties.

DET. JAMES DINLEY: died from a gunshot on November 6, 1921, while apprehending an actor.

WILLIAM P. CLARK: died on August 2, 1922 at age 36, after falling from a pole while repairing telegraph wires.

SGT. JOHN BLACK: died of gunshot wounds suffered on May 22, 1923, while serving a warrant on a robbery suspect.

CLARENCE WEIR: also died of gunshot wounds on May 22, 1923, during the same incident.

JAMES B. QUINLAN: died on April 7, 1923, in an automobile accident while driving an injured prisoner to the hospital.

JOHN SHANNAHAN: died on March 2, 1929 at age 29, from friendly fire after being shot accidentally by another officer.

WALTER O’NEILL: also died on March 2, 1929, in the same incident in a double tragedy.

EDWARD RUARK: died on December 12, 1930, after being shot while stopping a vehicle used in a homicide. Backup units pursued the vehicle to a watermelon farm where the murderer was captured after a search by 200 officers.

JAMES J. CARROLL: died on May 27, 1934, when he skidded into a traffic booth.

WALTER HARRIGAN: died on August 27, 1934, while riding the running board of a vehicle carrying an injured man to the Jersey City Medical Center. He was off-duty at the time and was clearing the street of interference from traffic.

WILLIAM CAHILL: died on October 28, 1946, of a heart attack while carrying an intoxicated man home.

DET. WILLIAM McCAFFERY: died on December 13, 1958, as the result of being accidentally shot by a backup officer during a stolen auto chase through Lincoln Park.

STEPHEN W. LIPKA: died on November 8, 1965, of a massive heart attack while intervening in a domestic dispute and struggling with an intoxicated male.

LT. STANLEY P. PRYZGOCKI: died on October 29, 1967, of gunshot wounds suffered in the line of duty.

CASPER BUONOCORE, JR.: died on September 12, 1973, when he was shot in the neck by a sniper from the roof of a three-story building as he was leaving the scene of an arrest and melee.

JOHN BRACKEN: also died on September 12, 1973, after a car struck his motorcycle while he was on NTF patrol.

DOMINICK CONTICCHIO: died of a massive stroke on September 10, 1974, after carrying an expectant mother down a flight of stairs as he prepared to take her to Margaret Hague Hospital.

WILLIAM G. McCARTHY: died on January 14, 1976, of stab wounds inflicted as he was attempting to arrest two car burglars.

LEROY GARVIN: died on on January 18, 1983, after suffering a massive heart attack while on duty in the East District.

SGT. DONALD CARROLL: son of James Carroll, was shot by a deranged man on November 6, 1986, while protecting innocent bystanders with his body.

SAMUEL WILSON: died of a massive heart attack on January 4, 1989, while struggling with a narcotics violator in the area of Chapel and Ocean Avenues.

SGT. JOHN E. LAUGHERY, JR.: died on November 25, 1992, of AIDS, after his skin was accidentally punctured by a hypodermic needle.

EDWARD C. BLACK: died suddenly on March 1, 2001, of a heart attack while on patrol in his police cruiser.

DOMENICK INFANTES: died on July 6, 2001, after being taken off life support. On July 4th, while off-duty and unarmed, Domenick came to the aid of a civilian who was being brutally attacked with a metal pipe by two brothers. While protecting the civilian Domenick was struck in the head with the metal pipe.

ROBERT NGUYEN: died December 25, 2005, after his Emergency Services truck plunged off of the Lincoln Highway Bridge into the frigid Hackensack River. He and his partner had delivered road flares and were unaware that the bridge had been raised while they briefly worked.

SHAWN CARSON: also died December 25, 2005, during same Christmas Day tragedy, along with his partner Robert at the Lincoln Highway Bridge.

DET. MARC DINARDO: died July 21, 2009, from gunshot wounds he received while apprehending violent offenders who were wanted for committing armed robbery and shooting 4 other Police Officers.

MELVIN SANTIAGO: died on July 13, 2014, after suffering a gunshot wound upon arriving at the scene of an alleged robbery in progress.

Police Tip Line

Citizens are the most effective weapon against crime. You can call the Tip Line to report a crime or give information that can be used to solve a case. Do you have information on a recent robbery? Do you want to report drug dealing in your neighborhood?